AXANAR Hits First Target, Confirms Shooting To Begin Early 2016.

(Valencia, CA; July 31, 2015) – Just twenty days into its crowdfunding campaign to finance principal photography and visual effects, AXANAR, a Star Trek film written and produced by a team of professional, independent filmmakers, passed its goal to fully fund the first of four episodes in the project. The campaign is currently on IndieGoGo.com and will continue through August 10th. When completed, the producers plan on shooting, editing and releasing the first “chapter” of a feature-length production sometime next year to be enjoyed online by sci-fi fans around the world.

“There’s still a long way to go,” reminds Alec Peters, Executive Producer of AXANAR and the head of Axanar Productions, the company formed to produce the twenty-minute short film PRELUDE TO AXANAR as well as the current production and other projects in the future. “Our total budget for this project is in the neighborhood of $1.3 to $1.4 million. And although that’s only 1-2% the budget of a typical science fiction film of this caliber, it’s still a lot of money to raise from fans.”

Since launching the crowdfunding campaign during San Diego Comic-Con, over 4,000 fans have contributed an average of $81.52 each to the production, bringing in just over $330,000. Peters estimates production and post production costs for the first “episode” of AXANAR to cost about $250,000 and the balance of funds raise will pay fees to services like IndieGoGo and cover the cost of souvenir items produced for backers.

“This is our third crowdfunding campaign and I think we’ve got a good handle on what it takes to generate interest and enthusiasm among backers and then deliver on those expectations,” explains Peters. Previous campaign efforts helped cover the cost of PRELUDE TO AXANAR, a twenty-minute short film that sets up the storyline in the current production and to help launch Ares Studios, the facility where AXANAR’S sets are being constructed, props and costumes can be found in storage and both Peters and Rob Meyer Burnett, the director of AXANAR, have their offices.

Burnett took to social media on Friday to let backers and fans know how appreciative he was to see the crowdfunding campaign reach its first major goal – allowing him to get to work on the first part of the feature: “The screenplay, by Bill Hunt and Alec Peters, is simply outstanding, and I can’t wait to really sink my fangs into the material.” Burnett followed that with a plea to fans to dial up the enthusiasm (and donations) in the last ten days of the campaign.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could get half the film funded? Hope so!”

Second, Third and Fourth Efforts

As the producers of AXANAR celebrate achieving their first major milestone, they are also hard at work finding more ways to reach more fans and generate even more support for their project. “We’re working on a special, limited-time perk for donors today, in fact,” said Peters in a telephone interview. “Fans and supporters are also reaching out to more members of the Star Trek family and we even have the attention of people in the space exploration industry. The circle keeps getting bigger and it’s really gratifying to see and hear from so many people who are excited by what they’ve seen so far and our progress reports we make on an almost daily basis.”

Peters is convinced the extra work will pay off. The current crowdfunding campaign is scheduled to end on August 10th – a date that roughly coincides with the national Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. Peters and some of the AXANAR crew will be there, spending time with Star Trek fans talking up the project. Another of his companies, PROPWORX, will be holding an auction the last day of the convention – a portion of the proceeds will go to support AXANAR.

“We don’t have the deep pockets of a studio behind us, so we just have to grind it out and raise money every way we can to pay for the production,” says Peters. “Fortunately, fans have really liked what we’ve shown them so far and we’re very careful to explain how the money is spent – so they understand we’re careful stewards of both their donation and this franchise they love so much.”

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AXANAR and PRELUDE TO AXANAR are projects produced by AXANAR Productions at ARES Studios in Valencia, CA. Axanar Productions specializes in science fiction entertainment including, but not limited to, film/television production, web content production, books and games. For more information on AXANAR and associated production efforts, visit: www.startrekaxanar.com. To view progress on the AXANAR crowdfunding campaign currently underway on IndieGoGo, please visit: www.savethefederation.com. For downloads of visual assets and other editorial content related to Axanar Productions projects, please visit: www.axanarpr.com.